(AllHipHop News) The Emmy nominations came out yesterday (July 16). Fox’s megasmash Empire earned three nominations, but only one in the major acting categories (Taraji P. Henson – Best Actress In A Drama Series). What was even more surprising is that the show was locked out of the “Outstanding Drama Series” category.

Co-creator Lee Daniels addressed the snubs in a video posted to Instagram. Daniels was joined by Empire star Jussie Smollett. The 32-year-old singer/actor asked his boss to “be nice,” but Daniels still took a sarcastic shot at the Emmys.

“F*ck these motherf*ckers,” Daniels said to the camera. The producer-director returned to IG to make it clear the comments were all in fun, but he suggested the “haters shut up and go to bed.”

Empire was a ratings behemoth. The number of viewers rose every week during the series’ first season. The finale drew in the largest ratings for a new series since 2005.